Wednesday, August 6, 2014

The Giver {Book to Movie}

This film is adapted from the book "The Giver" written by Lois Lowery in 1993. It is the first book in The Giver Quartet. Followed by #2 "Gathering Blue" (2000), #3 "Messenger" (2004) and #4 "Son" (2012).
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Movie poster and original book cover

This movie is packed with A-List Actors such as:

Alexander Skarsgård - playing "Jonas' Father"
You might know him as "Eric Northman" from the HBO Series "True Blood"
and he is currently working on the Movie "Tarzan" playing Tarzan. I can't wait to see him in that.

Katie Holmes - playing "Jonas' Mother"
You might remember her in the role of "Joey Potter" from "Dawson's Creek" and she has been in many movies and TV series. She just finished filming "Mania Days" playing the role of "Carla"

Meryl Streep - playing "Chief Elder"
She is an Academy Award winning actress who has been in many films. One of my favorites is "The Devil Wears Prada". Currently she is filming "Into the Woods" playing the role of "The Witch"

Jeff Bridges - playing "The Giver"
You might know him as "Jeffery Lebowski" in the movie "The Big Lebowski" and he just finished production of the "Seventh Son" playing "Master Gregory". He is also working on "The Little Prince" playing the voice of the "Aviator".

Odeya Rush - playing "Fiona"
Odeya is fairly new to the scene but she is an up and coming young star. She was in "The Odd Life of Timothy Green" playing "Joni Jerome". She was born in Israel but moved to Alabama when she was nine. Her family moved to NY when she was 11 to pursue her acting career.

Cameron Monaghan - playing "Asher"
Cameron has acted in many films and TV shows. He plays "Ian Gallagher" in the TV show "Shameless" and he played "Mason" in the recently release movie, "Vampire Academy" . He just finished working on "Amityville" playing "James" coming out in 2015.

Emma Tremblay - playing "Lilly"
She is young but has already made five movies. She played "Matilda" in "Elysium" and she plays "Lauren Palmer" in the Robert Duvall and Robert Downey Jr. film "The Judge" coming out later this year (which looks really good and I really want to see it.) I think Emma is on a great start to her career as an actor.

Taylor Swift - playing "Rosemary"
We all know Taylor as a super star singer song writer. But she has also done some film. She was the voice of "Audrey" in "The Lorax" and was in "Valentine's Day" as "Felicia".

There are rumors floating around of their flirtation with each other since meeting while filming "The Giver". Both are really busy but will they get together? Click the photo credit link to read the article about the two of them at the Toronto Film Festival.

Brenton has three more movies coming out in the next year or so. He plays "JR" in "Son of a Gun". He plays "Angelo" in "Ride" and he is playing "Bek" in "Gods of Egypt" coming out in 2016. He is definitely an up and coming actor to keep your eye on.

Jonas' world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

I am really hoping that that this will be a great movie. I know other book to movie adaptions have not always translated to the big screen but with this line up of big actors, having a talented director and being based off of a modern classic, I think this movie might stand of chance.

We'll see.

P.S. If you would like to read a good article on "Lois Lowry Giving Up on 'The Giver' to Hollywood" by the New York Times click here.

I hope you all enjoy the movie and post your own reviews in the comments. I know I will :)